Collapsible fortification-breastworks.



' APPLICATION FILED JULY 18.1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

L. E-BRHDS L. E. BRADSHAW.

COLLAPSIIBLE FORTIFICATION BREASTWORKS.

v APPLICATION FILED JULY 18.1917. 1,246

' Patented Nov. 13, 1917,

To'dZZ whom it may concern:

microns in. BRADSHAW, or MYRTLE, MIssIss'IPPIQ.

Be it known that I LUoIoos E. BRAlL smw citizen *of the United States, re-

j sidingat Myrtle, in the county of Union and state of Mississippi, =haveinventedc'ertain eewand useful Improvements in CollapsiyThis inventionmelates to-a collapsible fdrtification breastwork and 1 has for its primary object to provide a device ofthis character whichmay be easily and quickly manipulated so thatit will lie fiat upon the.

ground, or can be raised andse'curely anchored in an upright position to afford protection for soldiers stationed behind the breastwork. i

It is another and more particular object character, including anchoring stakes adapt of the invention to provide a device of this ed tobedriven into the ground and between which the body plate of the breastwork is pivoted at one of its ends, said plate having a p i y f port holes therein, revolvers w gingly mounted upon the plate fo fi through the respective port holes,-and

means on the plate to cover and protect the 1 revolvers when the body plate is folded grated.

downwardly into engagement with the It is also another important object of the 1 invention to provide very simple means for securely anchoring the pivoted shield plate to permit of its movement to operative or' inoperative positionand at the same-time eflectually prevent any displacement of the breastwo'rk from its anchorage. 1

y, It is another object of my invention to provide a device of the above character which 'issimp'le in construction, compara tively light in'weight, and over which retreating troops may move without hindrance, the shield plates being movable to v'olvers ready for instant use.

With the above and other objects inview, my lnvention conslsts in the novel features- OfCOI1StIUCt1OI1, combmatlon, and arrange-y ment of parts to behereinafter'more fnlly oo LAPsIBLn roRTIrIcATmn-BnnAsTWonKs.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV, 13, 191% Application filed July 18,1917. Serial No. 181,312.

described, claimed, and illustrated in tl1e=accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved breastwork in its operative position; e 1

Fig. 2 is a similarview showing the de- 60 Fig. 3 1s a section taken on the line 33,

viceifolded or collapsed;

of Fig-J2; and

.J'Fig. 4 is;a section takenon the line 4% of Fig. 3. r 1 1 Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 designates the body plate of the shield which is of suitable dimensions andpreferable of rectangular form in cross-section.- Mae ginal bars or flanges 6 project from one face of this plate along its longitudinal edges and one of the end edges thereof. 'The other end of the plate is provided on its opposite longitudinal edges with the laterally projecting. trunnions 7 which are loosely mounted for free turning movement in the upper ends of the stakes 8, said stakes being retained in connection with the trunnions by meansof the pins 9. stakes 8 are of requisite length so that when movementc 10 designates a-front plate which is lof substantially the same dimensions as the body plate-5 and is disposed in spaced parallel relation thereto. Suitable cushioning springs, indicated at 11, are interposed bye-u tween the plate 10 and; the body plate and cushion the movement of the former when subject to the impact of projectiles,whereby the body plate is relieved of considerable shock and jar and possible injury thereto reduced to a minimum. These two plates 5 and 10 are formed with two series of coinciding port holes 12, the port holes in one series being disposed in staggered relationwith respect to those in the other sei ries. At opposite sides of each port hole in the plate 5 on the rear face thereof, angular bearing brackets 13 are secured, and in line with each pair of brackets between the port holes in the other series, a resilient metal clip 1a is fixed to the plate. R designates themevolvers, the barrel of each being provided upon diametrically opposite sides-with pins indicated at R. These'pins are rotatably engagedin the spaced bearing brackets 13 The stock of the' revol'ver is 7 adapted to engagelbetween the spaced portions ofthe'resilient clip 14c, whereby the revolver is held in inoperativeposition with its barrel in substantiallyparallel relation face of the body platel Thistray is ofssufir cientdepth-to laccommodate the V revolvers I mounted upon the body plate without e'ze. er'ti-ng any pressure Jthereon, whereby: they,

inight possibly be damaged; The-itray-fjis adapted to be: held ,in its-.folded: position against the-body plate 5 by a spring-latch" a plate 'l 8 -whichflis"fixed. at oneof; itsendsf I V I latched, in its closed: position over the re "v'olvers mounted upon said; plate so asto protect the latter j. Thus, the devioe will not to'the-ibody plate and is adapted to operae tively engage a pin orgstud 19 on the-"tray. As an 'additionalh eans for POSllJlOIllHg the body: plate;5",upon the ground, Ipro vide a'metal .yoke bar 20, the armsoflvvhich are-pivotedrat their ends, as indicatedfat 21,

up'on'the side flanges 6 of the .plate 5. To

the intermediate portion of. this yoke, a:

bar 22 is hinged as-at 23, and a leg 24is I centrally fixed to this bar at one of its ends.

, The other end of said leg is fpivotally con-- nected, as shown at 25, to a metal stake 26." As shown invFig. 2 of the. drawings,

when thebodyplate 5 is folded downwardly toflie fiat upon the ground, the yoke arms" extend in parallel relation to the side flanges on the plate and beyond one end thereof, thesleg 24 foldinginwardly between the arms of said yoke; The end flange 6 on-the body plate is centrallynotched,-as at 27, to

of the plate 75.

' vertical position, the yoke 20"swinging up;

accommodate said leg; In setting up the device'in positionfor use, the stake 26, must,"

of course, be so located with respect to the anchoring. stakes 9, upon which the 7 body.

plate is pivotally supported as to permit of the proper-folding or collapsing movement =rod28jwhich'is connected by a wire 29 to a-staple 30 projecting from the-rear face In'the use of thedevice, thebody: plate 5 is raised from its horizontal POSltlOIlTOzEl wardly and forwardly with said plate until the leg 2 is movedto a forwardly and up-' wardlyinclinefd position with respectjto the stake26 The legend the yoke will thus con- 'stitute, a substantially. rigid brace-between the stake 26 and the shield plate 55. "The 5 plate will thus be sustained in its erect 7 position, and provides a shieldv gforftwo solidiers. The tray 16jis swung outwardly at right angles to the body plate '5', and the revolvers are also disengaged from the clips l laiid 'positioned as seen in :Fig. 1, with thei r' b'arre'ls in easement with the port 7 provided on the tray to contain a :eomplete;

supply o'fiammunition ready-for immediate= i use whenfthe ,;fortifieation breastwork or;

shield is erected. -The soldiersmayfire upon advancing- .=troopjs by 1 means of I I either row V of revolvers, inacoofdancefWith; the; for1na=- V men and number}- of L the;advai ng-zz351 019 Wh'enthe-device is not in use,.the body platd V 5? is foldeddownwardly as. seen 1' in; Fig. ,2, lthe tray;-.-16 shaving been 1391; th 1 gro nd be} anyw segi f iure i byi -t oops m l .i g 7 Over the. sam .My inven nt fo e r a y v age use us during. a

retreat,-;as the. troops eanfstop at any point where a line of these breastwork shields have :been" arranged, and, l quic ly, raise the shields; to their operative positions and irn mediately fire upon the enemy by means of the;loaded revolvers with which :the device is equipped. The yieldable 'front I plate 10 will effectively cushion the impact of small projectiles sov that the device will not be knocked over or injured during-Ia charge.

Of cour'se,.when the position is assaulted by means of artillery,-' the breastwork shields are in foldedposition and lieperfectly fiat upon theQ ground {so that large explosive projectiles, will not be likely to Strikethe From the' CQ ne t w th t ei cco pa yine" d ing,

1 the constructiommanner of use, and several advantages of {my invention will beclearly and fu lyeu derstioco ah ev e s 6mparatively' lightv in :weight and largenum bers thereof may be transported froinplace to place, owing to the factvthatj the, severalparts of thedevice when folded or collapsed,

foregoing description, takeninj are verycompactly arrangedfllt'will also;

be appreciated that I havedevised a fortifi cation breastwork for field troopsfwhich can be. very easily and quickly anchored in the desired position and disposed in' its erect position for use, orv folded to a; in

operative position When it is necessary to;

abandon the shieldsina retreat, they may be rendereduselessito the enemy by simply removing the revolvers and detaching the anchoring stakes and the v supporting yokeJ It willa1obeseen that the device as a whole is eaiceedingly -durable and" may be produced in large quantities at relatively small manufacturing cost.

While I have herein shown and described thepreferred construction and arrangement of the several elements, it is to be under stood that the device is susceptible of considerable modification therein and I, therei forei reservetheprivilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly em- H bodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a shield plate, means for supsporting the plate for vertical swinging movement, and a brace consisting of hing- .edly connected sections, one of said sections having a ground anchor pivotally connected thereto and the other brace section being operatively connected to the shield plate, said sections when extended sustaining the plate in a substantially vertical position, and bei ing foldable with respect to each other, when the plate is moved to a horizontal position.

2. In a device of the character described comprising anchoring stakes adapted for engagement in the ground, a shield plate pivotally mounted between said stakes for vertical swinging movement, means pivotally connected to the shield plate to sustain said plate in a substantially vertical operative position, said means being movable with respect to the shield plate when the latter is disposed horizontally in contact with the ground to lie in the same plane with the Q v shield plate. 4

to the shield plate, a foldable leg connected tothe yoke member, and an anchoring stake connected to said leg, said yoke and leg in one position sustaining the shield plate in substantially vertical operative position and being foldable with respect to said plate when the latter is moved to a horizontal position.

a. A device of the character described comprising a shield plate mounted for swinging movement in a vertical plane, an ammunition supporting tray pivotally connected to the plate and foldable against one i side thereof, and means pivotally connected to the plate to sustain the same in a substan- Y so tially vertical operative position, said means being fold-able with respect to the plate when the latter is moved to a substantially horizontal plane with respect to the ground surface.

5'. p A device of. the character described including a shield plate having a port opening, afire arm pivotally mounted upon one side of the plate andinovable to a position to discharge projectiles through the port opening, and releasable. clamping means to engage the fire arm and hold the same in an inoperative position substantially in paral- 5 le'l' relation to the plate.

* 6; A device of the character described including a shield plate having a series of port openings, fire arms pivotally mounted upon one side of the plate/and movable to discharge projectiles through the respective openings, and an ammunition supporting tray pivotally connected to the plate and extending at right angles thereto below the port openings to an inoperative position, said tray being foldable against the face of theplate over the fire arms.

7. A device of the character described including a shield plate having a series of port openings, fire arms pivotally mounted upon one side of the plate and adapted to be positioned to discharge projectiles through the respective openings, means on the plate to co-act with the respective fire arms and retain the same in inoperative positions substantially in parallel relation to the plate, and an ammunition tray mounted upon the plate for folding movement against the face of the plate and over said fire arms.

8; A device of the character described in cluding a shield plate mounted for swinging movement in a vertical plane and having a series of port openings, fire arms mounted upon one side of the plate to discharge projectiles through the respective openings, an ammunition supporting tray pivotally connected to the plate to fold against the face thereof and over the fire arms when the shield plate is moved to an inoperative position and disposed substantially in a horizontal plane, and means for sustaining the shield plate in a vertical operative position.

9. A device of the character described, comprising a pivotally mounted shield plate having a series of port openings therein, an ammunition receiving tray pivotally mounted upon one side of said plate and foldable against the shield plate when the latter is swung to an inoperative position in parallel relation to the ground, and means for sustaining the shield plate in a substantially vertical operative position.

10. In a device of the character described, a shield plate, ground anchors between and upon which said plate is pivotally mounted for swinging movement, said plate being provided with angularly extending marginal walls, an ammunition tray pivotally mounted between the opposed marginal walls of the plate and movable to a position at right angles to the shield plate, when the latter 

